Needham & Company LLC Reiterates “Buy” Rating for eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY)

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $72.00 price objective on the e-commerce company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective points to a potential upside of 11.21% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on eBay from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on eBay from $72.00 to $71.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho raised their price objective on eBay from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on eBay from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wedbush initiated coverage on eBay in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.33.

eBay Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EBAY opened at $64.74 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $66.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.73. eBay has a 12-month low of $47.06 and a 12-month high of $71.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Insider Activity at eBay

In related news, CFO Stephen J. Priest sold 1,033 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.93, for a total transaction of $67,072.69. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,225,644.40. This represents a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jamie Iannone sold 5,625 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.38, for a total transaction of $350,887.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 542,248 shares in the company, valued at $33,825,430.24. This trade represents a 1.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,746,065. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of eBay

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EBAY. Wealth Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of eBay during the 3rd quarter valued at about $543,000. PFG Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of eBay during the 3rd quarter valued at about $320,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of eBay by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 52,517 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $3,419,000 after acquiring an additional 1,241 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of eBay by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 24,424 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $1,590,000 after acquiring an additional 6,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of eBay during the 3rd quarter valued at about $226,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

About eBay

eBay Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates marketplace platforms that connect buyers and sellers in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Germany, and internationally. The company’s marketplace platform includes its online marketplace at ebay.com, off-platform businesses, and the eBay suite of mobile apps.